29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Griffin’s Beach Venom
W iping his eyes, Venom stands outside of the clubhouse and takes a deep breath. His hand rests on the door handle, but he knows he can’t face everyone right now.
Lying to Marnie was the hardest thing he’s ever done, and he almost confessed it was nothing more than an attempt to push her away like she said after she broke down.
He never expected that kind of reaction, and seeing her in that much pain makes him feel like absolute shit.
He can’t remember a time he’s felt worse.
Not even when she agreed with Snake that he was nothing more than dirt.
He wants to give Marnie a second chance. He wants to see if she means what she says, but his heart can’t handle the heartbreak. Not again. Hell, he’s not even healed from the first time.
Venom walks around to the back entrance and heads straight to his apartment. He just wants to lay down and fall asleep. Alone. Take one last look at the thoughtful basket he never expected and remind himself it’s for the best. For both of them.
Opening his apartment door, he freezes. The items from the basket lay in disarray and various stages of destruction.
The bottles of beer and soda are broken.
Licorice litters what he’s sure is a sticky floor.
The chips have been crushed and strewn all over his bed, the bags shredded and laying on the dresser.
The room smells strange, and he sees the bottle of cologne Marnie bough him. The top sits on the nightstand while the bottle itself lays broken among the rest of it. He smells cologne, beer, and soda all mixed together.
The fleshlight she gave him—an inside joke between them—sits on a pike of broken glass. It appears to be cut up, and he knows it’s not simply from throwing it with the rest of the items. No, a knife or scissors was taken to it.
“Did you go off and fuck your little admirer?” Cinder growls when she walks out of the bathroom.
A towel is wrapped around her hand with blood soaking it. She cut herself in the blind rage and probably can’t even fucking feel it.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Venom asks.
“Me? I come here to offer you a good time, and I find this little gift waiting on your bed. I’m not stupid. I know exactly who it’s from, and you’re mine, not hers. You don’t need her fucking shit.”
“Then why the fuck act like a goddamned banshee?”
“Because I drove by the hotel to find you standing by her car and waiting. You’ve been gone a long while, and all I can imagine is you taking her to one of those rooms you’ve never taken me to and fucking her. I’m not one to be played, Venom.”
Jesus Christ, you really are batshit crazy. “I didn’t go inside with her. I went there to tell her that the basket was inappropriate. Whatever was between us is done. It’s fucking done.”
“She’s still here, Venom!”
“She’s leaving!” he shouts back. “I lied to make her go, and as soon as she gets things settled, Marnie will be gone.”
“What did you lie about?”
Sighing, he shakes his head, still unsure why any of this surprises him. “It doesn’t matter. She’ll be gone soon, and that’s that.”
“What did you lie about?” she asks again, this time through clenched teeth.
“I’m not—”
“Fucking tell me!”
“I told her I don’t love her anymore! Happy?”
Cinder’s jaw drops open, and she gapes at him for a few moments. “You still love her?”
“Yeah, I do.”
He never even sees the fist coming, but she clocks him good in the jaw. Stumbling back against the door, he catches her fist as she attempts to hit him a second time.
“I hate you! I fucking hate you!”
Pulling her hand away, she shakes her head before she slaps him. Then she punches his arms and chest, and as much as he’d love to give her a swift backhand, sending her onto the littered floor she made, he doesn’t.
“I’m fucking done, Cinder. This is over.”
“You don’t get to dump me!” she screams and hits him in the eye. “You fucking bastard!”
Venom’s resolve not to hit her wears shockingly thin, and he knows he has to walk away before he does something he’ll regret.
He walks out of the room after pushing her back far enough to finally open it, and rather than the destroy the rest of his stuff, she follows him.
Her hands continue to slap and punch his back as he tries to get away from her.
“Fuck you, you fucking son of a bitch motherfucker! I will fucking cut you! Slice your throat with a rusty—”
Cinder’s cut off and pulled away from him, and Venom turns around as she’s tossed to the ground by Lex. Leaning down, she gets in the psychotic woman’s face. “You’ll what?”
“You fucking bitch. You did this! You helped facilitate this!”
“I have no idea what you’re screaming like a gorilla in heat for, but I also don’t speak crazy bitch. Must be a language barrier.”
Jumping to her feet, Cinder lunges at Lex. The curly blonde sidesteps her, grabs her by the hair, and slams her face into a nearby table. Twice. Blood coats Cinder’s face, but it only seems to fuel her. A swift swing connects with Lex’s jaw, and Venom worries how dangerous Cinder will get.
He and Lex still aren’t the best of terms, and he’ll feel terrible if she gets hurt because of him. Not after he betrayed her like he did.
When Cinder pops up, his worries disappear. Something about Lex completely changes, and the deadness in her eyes combined with the smirk on her face actually scares Venom. It takes nothing for Cinder to land on her back with Lex straddling her chest, delivering punch after punch.
Everyone in the room seems as shocked as he is, and Cinder can barely block the hits. Hell, it feels as though no one breathes until Colt runs up and yanks his wife up by her waist.
Her arms continue to swing while she kicks her legs. “Fucking touch him again. I fucking dare you. Hit him again, and it’ll be the last thing you ever fucking do, you fucking cunt!”
Felicity gasps beside Venom, and he jumps. He didn’t even notice her there, and he looks with wide eyes. “What?”
“Lex hates that word. It’s only reserved for people she truly hates . That girl had better thank her lucky stars that Colt pulled Lex off of her. Otherwise, well, you’d be burying your girlfriend tonight.”
“Baby, calm down,” Colt says, pulling her even further back. “Damn, you’re like trying to give a cat a bath. Jesus.”
Reaching down, Venom helps Cinder to her feet, blood covering her face and dripping onto the floor. She yanks out of his grasp once she’s upright, staggering only slightly. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
“Get the fuck out of this clubhouse,” Heidi says. “Now!”
“You’re all big and strong when you have Lex here. See how tough you are when you’re alone with me in an alley,” Cinder says and spits blood onto the floor. And possibly also a tooth.
Melanie walks up and grabs her by the throat. “Go near any of us again, and you’ll find out why you were never cut out to be a Drifter woman.”
She grabs Melanie’s hair and tugs, and Colt swears as Lex is on them in a flash. Her arms wrap around Cinder’s neck, and she’s forced to release Melanie before clawing at Lex’s arms. It takes only a few seconds before she falls limp and unconscious.
Letting her drop to the ground, Lex pushes her hair out of her face and lets out a long breath. “Bitch is lucky I let her go.”
“Where should we bring her?” Undertaker asks.
“The junkyard she crawled out of,” Heidi says, her eyes never leaving Cinder.
Lex walks over to Venom and gently touches his chin, forcing him to look at her. “How bad did she get you?”
The concern kicks him in the nuts. He betrayed her, and she still came to his rescue. Still cares. “I’ll be fine.”
“Not what I asked.”
Her big sister energy almost brings him to tears. It’s something so simple but so foreign, and the weight of this entire night threatens to crush him. “It’s not what hurts the most.”
“What does?”
Nodding towards the apartment, she follows him. “She was waiting for me in here.”
“I didn’t even see her come inside—What the fuck?”
She stares with wide eyes at the state of his room, and he chuckles when her head tilts as she spots the sex toy. “I mentioned to Marnie once upon a time that I needed one for the times we were apart because my hand just wasn’t enough.”
“Gross,” Lex says and nods. “That bitch really did lose her damn mind.”
“Lex, I’m sorry.”
“For what? That was fun.”
“That was fucking scary,” he says. “Your eyes… They… Fuck.”
Laughing, she shrugs. “I’ve been on a bit of a losing streak, so I needed to make this happen.”
“About us and how you felt betrayed… I’m sorry.”
She waves a hand in the air. “It’s fine.”
“I never want you to think—”
“Relax. I was hurt, but I’m okay now.”
The last thing he ever wants to do is betray her, and he leans against the wall. “You are?”
“I know you didn’t mean to hurt me.”
“You forgive me?”
Smiling, she nods. “Of course. I’m not going to throw you to the curb because you made me angry. Hell, Psycho and I weren’t even on speaking terms when Lacey lost her mind, and he threw a chair at the wall next to me in the Chapel. We’re still tight.”
“He what?”
“It’s not important. When you truly care about someone, you forgive them. Unless it’s completely unforgivable. Like hurt my husband or children. Otherwise, there’s nothing that would make me cut you out.”
A second chance.
“I lied to Marnie tonight,” Venom blurts out.
When her blue eyes explore his face, he doesn’t try to hide his tears. “About?”
“I told her I didn’t love her. That I wasn’t sure I ever did. She needs to be gone for me to get over her, and it’s the only way she’d listen.”
“Are you sure you want to get over her?”
No! I want to forgive her like you forgave me. Then I want to bury myself deep inside her until we’re too spent to keep our eyes open. “Yes.”
The look on Lex’s face confuses Venom. She looks… sad. “Then you did what you had to do.”
“I don’t know if I have the right to ask, but would you check on her? Make sure she’s okay? She was really upset when I left her, and it’s killing me.”
Reaching out, she gives his bicep a reassuring squeeze. “You have every right to ask. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”
“Thanks. I’m really sorry I brought her into this clubhouse.”
“So is Shep. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t gotten laid since Heidi found out. His balls are probably black and shriveled up at this point.”
They both laugh, but he wonders if he’ll ever figure out his love life. It’s nothing short of a terrible mess, but at least Cinder’s gone. He hopes.